By Abu Zafar, IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi/ Ballabgarh, 27 May 2015: After two days of riots and arson the Atali village near Faridabad town in Haryana is still tense as more than hundred people, including some injured men, women and children are sheltered in Ballabgarh police station and not ready to go back to their village. Meanwhile, taking serious note of the incident, a team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) visited the village on Wednesday.
On Wednesday a few more skirmishes were reported from the village in which one person was injured. There were rumors about some miscreants setting a fire some dunghills that belonged to Muslims.
On Monday evening a riot broke out in the village following the reconstruction of an about 80-year-old mosque. Some members of the Jat community reportedly attacked on Muslims’ houses and forced them to flee. About 20 people were injured and 17 houses and 7 vehicles belonging to Muslim minority gutted down.
Social activists and local police are working with community leaders to come out with some solution but still nothing substantial has come out. Jaan Mohammad, a Ballabgarh based activist, was hopeful that they will find out some solution by Wednesday evening but now he is more worried.
“We were hopeful that by today evening we will have some decision to the settle the matter, but unfortunately nothing happened in this regards,” Mohammad told IndiaTomorrow.net over the phone.
“The local surpanch came yesterday (Tuesday) with a few men from the village telling that there were mistakes committed by them and requested the victims to come back to the village. He promised to compensate their losses and to help them to treat injured people and also said that the mosque will be built under their supervision,” Mohammad added. “But now the situation is more complicated,” he further said.
According to Mohammad a few victims also visited Atali village under police protection. Muslims accused that the culprits who are named in the FIRs are roaming free in front of the police in the village and none of them have been arrested so far. Police registered FIR against 20 people, but none was arrested till now. The State government deployed 6 companies of police force to prevent any further incident. On Tuesday leaders from various Muslims organizations visited the site and met the victims.
Nusrat Ali and Mohammad Salim Engineer, vice president and general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind respectively reached out to victims with a delegation and promised all possible help to them. They also met local police officials demanding strict action against the culprits.
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulama Hind leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Maulana Mahmood Madni also visited the village on Tuesday.
